<p> In an age of accountability, schools worked harder than ever to standardize and measure their curriculum, instruction, and assessment to improve student learning. Yet, despite all the efforts made to increase the rigor and the learning of students to compete in the workplaces of the twenty-first century; the gap of career readiness seems to have gotten wider (DeYoung, 1989). The problem is students graduating from high school today in America are not adequately prepared to enter the work force without additional training. This is a serious problem for employers, as well as, a challenge to hire competent employees to compete in a global economy.</p><p> The researchers read books, articles, and journals to identify what skills employers considered employability skills and deemed essential and critical for workplace success. The literature provided foundational knowledge of the types of skills educators deemed essential and important for work readiness. The researchers analyzed which skills employers needed graduates to possess and what was being done in Kansas City area high schools to ensure students graduate ready for employment; in particular, the acquisition of applied skills and academic skills. This was accomplished by surveying high school principals and conducting interviews with district leaders in the Kansas City area. Graduates need more skills, in particular, applied skills to be successful in the workplace and employers need more skilled employees to compete in a domestic and global economy; both entities look to the American high school for the pre-employment training needed to be successful in the 21st century. The research literature was clear: graduates need more applied skills: critical thinking, the ability to collaborate, and communication skills emerged as the most important. To this end it is recommended that: Schools should provide more the rigor and the relevance in the instructional opportunities students experience in school; establish a credible work readiness credential for high school graduates; provide more access to pre-career opportunities for more students to differentiate and customize an educational experience to meet their individual needs; increase career awareness and an individualized plan of study for each student; and adjust diploma requirements for high school graduation to require credits in applied skills.</p><p>

<p> Turnover in intercollegiate athletics leadership often results in an interim director of athletics appointment, which is a quick solution to fill a gap in leadership until a permanent successor can be named. Not only is interim leadership a convenient option for the institution, it can also provide an individual the opportunity to serve in a senior leadership position that may otherwise be difficult to obtain. Although there are many advantages to serving as an interim director of athletics, those who serve in the role are also faced with a number of challenges that have implications to the individual and institution during the temporary appointment. </p><p> This dissertation captured the experiences of interim National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) directors of athletics. Through the use of qualitative interviews, the dissertation explored and described the perceived benefits, challenges, and institutional support experienced by fifteen participants who had served and completed their appointment as an interim NCAA director of athletics. Bridges&rsquo; (2004) Transition Theory Model, and the Human Resource Frame of Bolman and Deal&rsquo;s (2013) Organizational Reframing Model provided the conceptual framework to analyze the data of this study. </p><p> The study found that participants experienced change that triggered their transition into the interim director of athletics role causing them to let go of an old identity with which they were familiar. Participants also experienced varying degrees of unfamiliarity as they adapted to new job tasks, experienced increased workloads, and managed new and old relationships. Ultimately, participants experienced acceptance of their role as interim by building the confidence and skills needed to be successful before they transitioned out of the interim director of athletics position into their next role. </p><p> Recommendations for policy include the need to develop NCAA and institutional guidelines to provide a go to guide in how to efficiently and effectively support an interim director of athletics. Practice recommendations include the implementation of procedures that encourage professional learning and growth opportunities. Finally, future research should examine employment trends and provide different perspectives on the experiences of interim NCAA directors of athletics, such as gender and race differences, family dynamics, and staff perception.</p>

<p> The higher education setting is a unique environment in which individuals are tasked with facilitating change. Numerous internal and external factors are causing institutions to need to change how they perform tasks and deliver educational opportunities to students. Therefore, institutional leaders must explore techniques for facilitating change. Within institutions, the people are the ones who lead change initiatives. However, there is limited empirical research on how personnel within institutions perceive change management programs. </p><p> This study provides empirical research regarding how personnel in higher education institutions perceive change management initiatives. More specifically, this study was a program evaluation of personnel at a single institution with a Six Sigma change management program. Document analyses as well as one-on-one and focus group interviews were used to evaluate the Six Sigma program. The interviews were used to understand how personnel perceive the Six Sigma program in the higher education setting and its ability to prepare them to facilitate change.</p><p> The themes developed from the interviews allowed for the conclusion to be drawn that Six Sigma does help prepare individual to facilitate change. Although, participants found the program in its entirety to help prepare them to facilitate change, they also acknowledged many shortcomings of the program. The helpful aspects included: the training program, the trainer(s), providing a process to follow, started the change conversation, knowledge can change, and confidence to lead change. The challenges included were rigidity of the program, statistical calculations, ability to influence change, and scope of the program. Additionally, participants did not perceive Six Sigma to align with the types of problems found in the higher education setting. </p><p>

<p>Every year, tens of thousands of students transition from middle to high school or from one high school to another. Most of these student transitions are moving from one traditional school to another. This study sought to explore the experience of high school students as they transitioned to their new, very non-traditional, full-time virtual school. This study first profiles eight high school students that transitioned to their current full-time virtual high school during the 2016-2017 school year. Next, it summarizes their thoughts on what school-based practices helped them during their transition. Finally, it presents their recommendations for their school to make the transition easier for future students. This qualitative, phenomenological study utilized semi-structured interviews to gather data on their rich lived experience of transitioning into a full-time virtual school. The 8 full-time virtual high school students were selected because they entered a full-time virtual high school for the first time during the 2016-2017 school year and were willing to share their experiences. The interview questions were designed and validated to elicit sincere, authentic recollections of their experiences transitioning from their old school to their new one. One-on-one, personal interviews were conducted and recorded virtually using Adobe Connect and were coded and analyzed using Atlas.ti qualitative analysis software. This study resulted in four conclusions. First, students participated in orientation, but it was inadequate for the needs of student transitioning into a virtual setting due to the lack of social interaction. Second, communication between full-time virtual schools and its students is vital for transitioning virtual students. Thirdly, school personnel are an important factor in a student's transition from a traditional high school setting to a full-time virtual one. Fourth, parent/guardians need to be engaged more while their student transitions to their new school. In summary, this study might help full-time virtual schools design transitional programs that meet the needs of this unique group of students.

<p> The extent of the relationship between teacher-student interaction and student course engagement was not known. This quantitative, correlational study examined if, and to what extent, a relationship existed between these four domains and student course engagement of technical college students. The Model of Teacher Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, and the engagement conceptual framework provided the theoretical foundations and framework for this study. The research questions addressed if there was a significant relationship between each domain of teacher-student interaction and student course engagement, and of the four domains, which was the strongest, as well as weakest predictor of student course engagement. One hundred eighty-five participants enrolled in English classes at a technical college in the Northeastern United States completed the questionnaires on Teacher Interaction and Student Course Engagement. Pearson&rsquo;s <i>r</i> &ndash; a parametric statistic &ndash; revealed a positive relationship between cooperation and student course engagement: <i>r</i> = .363, <i>p</i> &lt; .001, two-tailed. This relationship suggested that as scores on cooperation increase, student course engagement also tends to increase. The results from the bootstrap approach for the regression analysis suggested the cooperation domain was significantly associated with course engagement: 95% CI [.32, 1.41]. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge on teacher-student interactions and student course engagement by focusing on each domain of teacher-student interaction.</p><p>

<p> This study explores the implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions (PBIS) in an alternative school located in a large, urban, inner-city school district. It focused on determining the consistency of the implementation with the culture and climate of the staff and the school and the reduction of office discipline referrals and suspensions. </p><p> PBIS provides an operational framework for providing a system for improving student behavior outcomes to ensure that all students have access to the most effective implemented instructional and behavioral practices. Across the country, thousands of schools are implementing PBIS as a way to improve school culture, safety and climate. Sugai and Horner (2006), the architects of the PBIS framework, claimed that the framework consisted of four integral elements: </p><p> 1. Data for decision-making </p><p> 2. Measurable outcomes supported and evaluated by data </p><p> 3. Practices with evidence that these outcomes are achievable </p><p> 4. Systems that efficiently and effectively support implementation of these practices </p><p> The results of this mixed-methods study determined that there was a reduction in the number of office discipline referrals since the implementation of PBIS, and the culture and climate of the staff perceptions increased. However, PBIS is relatively new to this particular school in addition to the school district. It is still too early to determine the long-term effects of the implementation. </p><p>

<p> This dissertation describes the factors influencing teacher efficacy among teachers currently or recently working in a juvenile detention center education program in southeastern Pennsylvania. The single-case study examined the barriers and facilitators to high teacher efficacy in that school setting, since these factors were previously unknown. The research population for the study consisted of all teachers who are working or who have worked within the past five years at the juvenile detention center education program (n = 9). Research was conducted using the Teachers&rsquo; Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran &amp; Hoy, 2001), a questionnaire, and in-person interviews. The following were found to be barriers to high teacher efficacy at the juvenile detention center: student misbehavior, classroom distractions, student groupings of mixed ability levels, limited assessment options, negative student attitudes, and limited background information about students. The following were found to be facilitators of high teacher efficacy at the juvenile detention center: positive learning climate, presence of detention officers, classroom rules and expectations, differentiated instruction, relevant lessons, educational activities, and rapport with students.</p><p>

<p> Self-concept is related to student academic achievement and locus of control (Coleman et al., 1966), intrapersonal and interpersonal processes (Markus &amp; Wurf, 1987), and many long-term outcomes, such as satisfaction with one&rsquo;s job, marriage, and life in general (Mortimer et al., 1982). Although self-concept is fairly malleable in early adolescence, it becomes more stable and rigid in high school (Bachman, O&rsquo;Malley, &amp; Johnston, 1978; Protinsky &amp; Farrier, 1980). While interventions targeting self-concept have generally been found to be successful (Hattie, 2014), the associations between specific school- based recognitions for achievement and student self-concept have yet to be investigated. Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NCES, 1996), the following analysis investigated the associations between different school-based recognitions for achievement and students&rsquo; self-concept. In this study, a set of school- based recognition variables was identified and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses was used to build an ANCOVA with random effects model predicting student self-concept in the 10th grade while controlling for gender, race, socioeconomic status (SES), and prior self-concept (8th grade) scores. Results indicate support for the use of HLM statistical methods and the inclusion of the aforementioned covariates. However, none of the predictor variables from the identified set of school-based recognition variables were significantly related to self-concept when entered into the model. Implications for school psychology research and practice are presented within a multitiered systems of supports (MTSS) framework, including suggestions for the implementation of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS).</p><p>

<p> ABSTRACT Given the federal thrust for educational reform and the growth of school choice options, parents are faced with increasing opportunities for educational placement options for their children including the recent composition of full-time online K-12 schools. Understanding parents&rsquo; perceived benefits, which inform their decision-making when choosing from a multitude of educational placement or school choice options, provides the educational community with information to better increase parent satisfaction. The potential increase in parent satisfaction has the ability to simultaneously increase student achievement. </p><p> The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine which perceived benefits parents held when choosing a full-time online educational placement for their child. This research study examined Middle Tennessee parents&rsquo; perceived benefits of full-time online education that led them to select this educational delivery model for their child. Additionally, this study utilized an online survey and interviews to obtain quantitative data and qualitative data in the form of descriptions of the participants&rsquo; shared experience with the phenomenon. Qualitative data were recorded and transcribed verbatim for each participant before the data was coded. This enabled data organization into significant statements for the development of essential structures of the parents&rsquo; experiences. Analytical and descriptive statistics were conducted prior to a synthesis of the quantitative and qualitative data, which rendered a comprehensive representation of the summary of both data sets. </p><p> Trends from the survey data were compared to five identified themes generated from examining significant statements in the qualitative data. The findings of the study indicated parents&rsquo; perceived benefits of full-time online education center on academic quality, a safe educational environment, and an individualized learning pace for their child. The findings of this research provide support for exploring parents in the role of &ldquo;consumers&rdquo; which will enlighten an educational community that now functions in the role of &ldquo;supplier.&rdquo;</p><p>

<p>This exploratory study applies social network analysis techniques to existing, publicly available data to understand collaboration patterns within the co-author network of a federally-funded, interdisciplinary research program. The central questions asked: What underlying social capital structures can be determined about a group of researchers from bibliometric data and other publicly available existing data? What are ways social network tools characterize the interdisciplinarity or cross-disciplinarity of co-author teams? The names of 411 grantees were searched in the Web of Science indexing database; author information from the WoS search results resulted in a 191-member co-author network. Research domains were included as attribute data for the co-author network. UCINet social network analysis software calculated a large 60 node component and two larger components with 12 and 8 nodes respectively, the remainder of the network consisted of smaller 2-5 node components. Within the 191-node co-author network the following analyses were performed to learn more about the structural social capital of this group: Degree and Eigenvector centrality measures, brokerage measures, and constraint measures. Additionally, ten randomly selected dyads and the five 4-node cliques within the 191-node network were examined to find patterns of cross-disciplinary collaboration among researcher and within award teams. Award numbers were added as attribute data to five 4-node cliques and 10 random dyads; these showed instances of collaboration among interdisciplinary award teams. Collaboration patterns across disciplines are discussed. Data from this research could serve as a baseline measure for growth in future analyses of the case studied. This method is recommended as a tool to gain insights to a research community and to track publication collaboration growth over time. This research method shows potential as a way to identify aspects of a research community?s social structural capital, particularly within an interdisciplinary network to highlight where researchers are working well together or to learn where there is little collaboration.